Life without parole for woman in kidnappings

Now, because of her ties to violent drug trafficking crew known as Los Palillos, she’ll likely spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Nancy Mendoza Moreno, 25, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a role in two kidnappings in 2007. Mendoza lured men into traps set by the gang members, who demanded money from the victims’ families.

She was convicted in July 2012 of conspiracy and two counts of kidnapping for ransom.

San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn ordered the defendant to serve a term of life in prison without parole, plus life with parole and another 20 years.

The judge rejected a defense lawyer’s argument that not giving Mendoza a chance at a parole hearing would be cruel and unusual punishment, given her age and the relatively minor role she was accused of playing in the kidnappings.

“Ms. Mendoza, I continue to believe that the jury reached the correct verdicts in your case...,” Einhorn said. “But for your conduct, two men would not have gone through the indignity of the kidnap for ransom.”

The judge said the defendant’s conduct was “sophisticated,” “calculated” and “prolonged,” then when on to describe some of the ordeal one of the victims endured at a house in Chula Vista before he was rescued in a federal raid.

“He was treated much like an animal, chained to a closet for days and days,” Einhorn said.

Mendoza was the third defendant to be tried since 2012 in connection with Los Palillos, Spanish for “toothpicks,” which prosecutors have said is responsible for a series of kidnappings and killings in San Diego County between 2004 and 2007.

Some of the victims had ties to the Arellano-Felix drug cartel in Tijuana.

The jury found that Mendoza played a role in an incident on Jan. 31, 2007, when a man she befriended at a gym was abducted and held for 22 days. The kidnappers collected $450,000 from the victim’s family.

In June 2007, Mendoza met a man at a coffee shop and asked him to join her at her “aunt’s house” on Point Dume Court in Chula Vista. When he stepped inside, he was attacked by men dressed as police officers, who held him in the house for eight days.

After his family paid nearly $200,000 ransom, the FBI raided the home.

Prosecutors said Mendoza had a romantic relationship with a man accused of being one of the group’s leaders, Juan Francisco Estrada Gonzalez, who paid her $15,000 in ransom proceeds. Estrada is currently on trial in a death penalty case with co-defendant Jorge Rojas Lopez.

Both face multiple murder charges and other felony counts.

On Friday, Mendoza maintained that she is innocent of the charges for which she was convicted. She told the judge she had sympathy for the victims and their families, but would continue to fight for her freedom.

“Three years and 11 days ago, I had a life,” she said, explaining that she had worked as an assistant in a law firm and dreamed of pursuing a career in law.

Those dreams were shattered on Aug. 13, 2010, when she found herself behind bars.

Her lawyer, Merle Schneidewind, argued that she was a “good person” who was only 18 when the crimes occurred and should get a chance at rehabilitation.

But prosecutors disagreed.

“She had a choice, she did it because she was a criminal...,” said Deputy District Attorney James Fontaine. “She was well aware of the risks and dangers and she didn’t care.”